ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Characterization of Salt-Tolerant Cultivars of Date Palm Based on Morphological and Biochemical Responses Under Salinity Stress
 
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1
Institute of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan
 
2
Department of Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan
 
3
Department of Agronomy, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur-63100, Pakistan
 
4
Department of Environmental Sciences, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University Sheringal, Dir Upper, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 18000, Pakistan
 
5
School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
 
6
Department of Parasitology and Medical Entomology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latif, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
 
7
Center of Research, Faculty of Engineering, Future University in Egypt, New Cairo 11835, Egypt
 
8
School of Life Sciences & Center of Novel Biomaterials, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
 
9
Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
 
 
Submission date: 2023-09-11
 
 
Final revision date: 2023-11-04
 
 
Acceptance date: 2023-12-17
 
 
Online publication date: 2024-04-22
 
 
Corresponding author
Irfan Ashraf   

Institute of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan
 
 
Allah Ditta   

Department of Environmental Sciences, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University Sheringal, Dir Upper, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 18000, Pakistan
 
 
 
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ABSTRACT
Abiotic stress, especially salinization, is considered a major soil problem in arid and semiarid regions. To combat salinization, halophytes such as date palms are grown in these areas. However, less information is available on the morphological and biochemical responses of different date palm cultivars under high salinity. In this regard, eight cultivars of date palm were selected and treated with different salinity levels to check the adaptive capabilities of these cultivars against salt stress in terms of morphological and biochemical attributes. The objective of the current study was to screen these cultivars for tolerance or susceptibility to salt stress (0, 50, 100, and 200 mM NaCl). The results of the morphological parameters revealed the negative impact of salt stress on the morphology. Higher concentrations of salt reduced the plant height (Haleemi, Dahakki, Sanduri, Saghoi, Tarwali, and Hamanwali), the number of leaves (Haleemi, Basrawali, Dhakki, Sanduri, Saghoi, and Gajjar), leaf length (Haleemi, Dhakki, Sanduri, Saghoi, and Hamanwali), leaf width (Sanduri), leaf area (Haleemi, Sanduri, Saghoi, Tarwali, and Hamanwali), fresh weight (Halimi, Dhakki, Sanduri, Saghoi, and Tarwali), dry weight % (Halimi, Basrawali, Dhakki, Sanduri, Saghoi, Tarwali, Hamanwali, and Gajjar) and root length (Haleemi, Basrawali, Dhakki, Sanduri, and Gajjar) in most of the cultivars. Generally, it was observed that leaf tissues showed a significant (p≤0.05) increase in the superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POD) activities with the increasing salt concentrations. Current analysis showed that salinity significantly (p≤0.05) decreased the accumulation of total phenolic contents (TPC) in the leaf tissues of Haleemi, Basrawali, Dhakki, Sanduri, Saghoi, Tarwali, Hamanwali, and Gajjar. However, a reduction in the carotenoid contents in cultivars (Haleemi, Basrawali, Dhakki, Sanduri, Saghoi, Tarwali, Hamanwali, and Gajjar) was noted with an increase in the salt concentration. Salt stress significantly reduced the anthocyanin contents in some cultivars (Haleemi, Basrawali, Sanduri, Saghoi, Tarwali, Hamanwali, and Gajjar). This species is highly adapted to salt stress conditions by the evolution of an osmoregulation mechanism. These results suggest that although date palm is tolerant of high salinity, there is variation in tolerance among different cultivars. Based on the recorded parameters, it is concluded that Saghoi was the most salt-tolerant cultivar out of the test ones, followed by Sanduri, Tarwali, and Hamanwali, respectively.
eISSN:2083-5906
ISSN:1230-1485
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